Arrow of Light
by Vanwa
Summary: Based on OoT. When Zelda sends Link into the past, she doesn't realize that she is forcing him to repeat history again and again. Link needs to find the bearer of the missing triforce piece, but when he finds her, can he keep her? Rated T for bad jokes
1. Chapter 1

Disclamer: Although I wish I could, I do not own Zelda: OoT. But, I do own Helen (C) ;) This particular story is one I have been working on for 2 or more years, so please R&R!

Also: _Words in Italics_ are interior monologue. In english: the character is talking to themselves. A line is just a break between scenes :)

* * *

**Arrow of Light**

I could start my tale with "once upon a time". Though it seems fairly cliché, it is the way that all good stories start. In a beginning. And so: Once upon a time, there was a girl.

The sun shone freely into the glade when my eyes fluttered open that fateful morning; drops of dew shining like lamps in the misty light. A sigh escaped me as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, my body aching with the morning chill.

"Why is life never easy?" I muttered to myself. I could not sleep in my own bed anymore; eventually, I would make my way to the pond, like a zombie hungering for flesh. It is not normal for me to be so reckless, to give in to the urges that pulsed in my veins. I was foolish. I didn't realize how much danger I was in by just looking at the pool, let alone sleeping by it. It had been rumored that mischievous spirits lived in this place, however, rumors are rumors; if lying in a tiger's belly would get me to sleep, I would ask it to eat me, regardless of the warnings I had heard.

But I was foolish.

One night, I awoke to find my arm thrown over my head, trailing my fingers in the water. Frantically, I drew my hands out and wiped them on my tunic, but it was too late. Even the touch of the Lake of Spirits will haunt the bearer forever, they say. Even though I had no idea who "they" were, I realized that something bad would happen to me, though no one could agree exactly what. I waited for two months with bated breath, but nothing happened.

Just when I thought myself safe, I began having a reoccurring dream.

In the dream, I can see my father. I am on the battlefield, the final battlefield where the fate of Hyrule was decided. He reaches to me, the handkerchief I had made for him stained red with blood. I run to him, except the closer I get to him, the closer he is to death. And as I reach out to him to catch his fall, I see the light fade from his eyes. I can hear someone screaming somewhere, but I can feel nothing, hear nothing, see nothing. Nothing but my father's gray eyes; the eyes that used to smile when I had brought a frog to the table, even though his face was stern; the eyes that would taunt me when we sparred. He knew I could best him with an arrow, but he wouldn't admit it aloud. But he is gone forever. My heart is bleeding onto my hand, as if I have really broken it. A soldier wraps an arm around my waist, dragging me away, kicking. Setting me down on the edge of the battle field, he disappears into the night- as a dream soldier would. I crawl under a tree, sobbing with unladylike gulps of air. Suddenly, everything silences. I spot a man on horseback getting near where my father had died and I stop crying. _What is he doing?_ He dismounts effortlessly and kicks bodies out of the way, my father's body among them. He falls against a pile of the dead, his eyes pointed heavenward. His hand relaxes, allowing a golden object to tumble from where he had died protecting it. He had died. He had died.

"No!" I cry, shattering the stillness. I run as fast as I can toward my father; if I cannot have my father alive, then I will have him dead. The man with yellow eyes picks up the gold from the mud; he closes his eyes, seeming to savor the moment. But it explodes.

The first thing I think is my father's body is gone.

The second thing is pain. Unimaginable pain. It feels as though my hand has caught fire and it was spreading through my veins toward my toes. The last thing I can see is blood running from a triangle shaped wound on my hand.

It is always the same. But the morning I awoke from the dream the first time, I knew my father was dead. I didn't need the officers to formally visit a week later, clearing their throats as they tried to think of a way to phrase the awful thing they had to say, to tell me there were no remains of my father. Nothing remained but a memory in my heart. From then on, I sported a shiny triangle shaped scar on the back of my left hand.

A memento for the loss of my innocence.

But that was long ago.

* * *

The last tattered remnants of the dream fled as the sun tossed a ray of light over the horizon. Yet again, I awoke to find myself at the Lake of Spirits. The inhabitants of Yumno Village used my voyage home as a clock. Every morning, I walked back through the forest, passing under the pitiful gazes of my neighbors. I want to scream at them: "You know nothing of my pain!" but I never did. This village was not my own anymore. My house was not my own. It was haunted by the conjuring of my heart, the consequences of touching the pool.

As I reached my father's home, I turned to the water trough, its contents as still as glass. My reflection gazed back at me with brown and rebellious hair; _like my father_ my heart admits, but my brain tells it to shut up. _Your eyes look like his too, _says my heart softy, _haunted._ My reflection in the water blinks, seduced by its words.

"I am not like my father," I whisper to the mirror. "I have not the courage." I cannot bring myself to enter the house, not yet. I know I will find my father, sitting at the table eating breakfast. Even from here, I can hear the tinkle of a spoon against a bowl. That is my curse, for to touch the Lake of Spirits is to become haunted by the thing that pains you most.

Sighing, I lay against a rock, fingering my ocarina in silence. My father told me my mother had made it. She had died giving birth to me, and since I had not known her, I was not haunted by her. With so much rubbing, the ocarina had become smooth with wear. Putting it to my lips, I lost myself in one of my favorite songs.

I had learned it when I was little. My father had loved to sing, more then he loved to breath. This particular one was his favorite, telling of forbidden love. The couple was prohibited from ever seeing each other and they eventually died from broken hearts, but the Goddesses took pity on them and smeared their souls upon the evening sky to make a sunset.

"It was fate my dear," he would mourn playfully, "It is man's punishment, to be the subject of fate forevermore."

As I finished, I could hear the trill of another ocarina join in the last part: _Love cannot be seen, but broken. Love cannot be found, but lost. Sunset is the magic spoken, color thrown across the world._

A silence settled as I searched for my hidden duettist. _Perhaps it was only the ghost of my father,_ I thought. _Am I to be cursed for the rest of my days?_ But I laid my eyes upon someone I had never seen before. Green amongst the green. His eyes fluttered open as he put the ocarina in his lap. They were as blue as water. His golden hair played lightly across his brow as he stood up and put the instrument into his pack. He was not dressed like the elves in the south; he had a green tunic with a leather belt. A sword's sheath crossed his waist, and a quiver of arrows rested lightly on his back. A shield with a mirror on the back had the desert symbols for the moon and the stars as well as the sacred triforce engraved upon it. He had gloves on, with gold engraved on the top. The only part of him that I could recognize was the leather boots made in the southern elfish community of Kokiri.

He wasn't watching me asses him; his eyes were turned upon my father's house. I glanced through the window. He was cleaning up breakfast, humming as he plunged his hands into soapy water. The man frowned, his brow furrowing in concern.

"Who is he?" he finally asked. His brashness was surprising. Obviously he was not from around here; the townsfolk could not see my father.

"My father," I croaked. Why was I telling this stranger these things? _Foolish!_ my brain cried with triumph. _Shut up already!_ replied my heart, _I've heard enough from you. _The man crouched down next to me. With his thumb and forefinger, he tilted my chin until I could look into his eyes. But in them, I found no comfort.

The man with yellow eyes peered back at me from within his eyes. _I have found you at last! _came a painful voice from within my head. Suddenly, I found myself on the ground, staring at the sky. The shadow of my father passed over my head as he walked toward the trough.

"Are you playing a game again?" he teased. Thank the goddesses that the apparition chose that moment to dissolve into dust. I could not have taken a moment more.

"I am tired," I said to the dirt that had been my father, "I am tired of being. If you wish to kill me, then you are succeeding for I cannot take much more." I turned my head and found that the strange man was still there, watching me with pained eyes.

"I can help you," he said quietly, "but you have to trust me." _Don't do it…_ warned my brain, _he could be dangerous_. _Oh bugger off will you!_ cried my heart, _you know as well as I do that she will die without help._

"Why would you feel obligated to help me?" I said, mentally telling both my heart and my brain to shut up before I came in there and hit them.

"Why not?" he said simply, "You are in danger."

"Ah. A hero type then. Am I really that pitiful?" I said sorrowfully. The man bit his lip, but it was no use. He began laughing, a long, rich laugh which made me blink at the newness of it. I had not heard laughter in many years.

"You don't know who I am, do you?" he chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, this is refreshingly new."

"I… don't understand,"

"Ah, well, I think I owe you a story then."


	2. Chapter 2

"Once upon a time," he began, "before the war between the Gerudos and the Hylians started, a man and a woman left Hyrule Castle and made their way toward the forest. The women headed for the north, seeking refuge with the Kokiri. The man headed to the more forgiving southern Hylian colonies with his one year old daughter. The Hyrulian woman, who had headed to the Kokiri, died right after she gave birth and her son was raised by the elves as one of them. The man, however, lived a long life before becoming caught up in the war. He died and his daughter was left alone."

_Told ya he was crazy_ smirked my brain. I sent it a mental slap. His story was of me. Why?

" The boy who was raised by the Kokiri, left the forest, eventually becoming caught himself in a larger plot," the man waved an arm in the air. "Well, to speed things up, the boy killed Ganondorf and saved the world. Many times. Very many times. The problem was that Ganondorf kept escaping. Again and again." The boy laughed. "Kicking someone's butt for the umpteenth time is not as fun as it sounds. There was something missing that would close Ganondorf into his prison forever."

"You have seen the triforce depicted right?" I nodded dumbly. "Well, it is made up of three triangles, one for each of the goddesses. Well, that's not exactly true." He stopped, using a stick to draw the triforce in the dirt.

"The triforce is made up of three triangles that intersect at their tips, forming a larger triangle. However, there is also a triangle in the middle, which represents a goddess that many have forgotten. Narssa, the goddess of fate." He sighed suddenly. "It is all rather silly, is it not? To forget the thing that pains us so. Fate."

He sat up and pushed back the sleeve of his green tunic. On the tan skin of his palm, a faint triangle scar was revealed.

"It was only a dream," I said faintly. The man smiled, using a finger to trace the shiny skin of my own scar.

"No. No it was not," he said gently. "I saw you there. At the battle I mean. I was the one who dragged you away from your father." He glanced at me, reading my thoughts. "You should be thankful. Ganondorf would have killed you if you were there when he found the triforce. Your father died protecting it, which Ganondorf did not expect. And it backfired."

"Ganondorf…" I echoed.

"Mm. When he touched the triforce, it broke apart in his hands, finding a place to settle in the people who most represented the individual pieces. Ganondorf got power of course, I…I mean Link got courage, and Zelda received wisdom," he chuckled," though I cannot fathom why."

"Why did you come and tell me this?"

"I feel you deserve a right to know what you carry. You hold the piece of fate. It was fate which made your hand trail into the Lake of Spirits, fate which brought you to the battle, fate which is killing you as we speak." He looked into my eyes for the second time that day. "I will heal you, but I need you to come with me afterwards. If Ganondorf gets a hold of you, he will take your triforce piece and dispose of your body, but not before torturing you first." His eyes revealed a memory for only a moment, but it was enough for me to guess. He had been tortured with the memory of his mother, as I was with my father. I shuddered involuntarily.

"You remind me of myself when I first learned I had a piece of the triforce." He tilted his head back until it lay against the edge of the log. "Out of all the people on this earth, why me? I should have lived... happily, but I can never go back to that." I turned to look at him. He had his eyes closed, and he looked so forlorn that I would have died, right there, if it would have stopped the ache in my heart. I lay my head against his shoulder.

"I will do whatever I can," I said softly. He laughed gently, taking my hand from behind my tunic and tracing the outline of my scar again.

"How can we fight fate?" he sighed. Somehow, that was sadly funny.

* * *

The man seemed smaller inside my house, but he seemed to be holding off the apparitions, for which I was thankful. My head was still reeling from his story. I was there… at the final battle.

"The Lake of Spirits is more dangerous then people know," said the man as he rummaged through his pack. A hookshot, a dozen arrows, two bombchus, and a jeweled boomerang joined the strange mélange of items accumulating on the table. His pack seemed bottomless.

"You would think that a millennia of warnings would be enough to stop simple villagers," he said, shaking his head, "but people tend to forget things easier then they remember them. Ah!" He set down a stone of agony on the growing pile and pulled out a glass diamond, a blue stone glowing from within.

"Nayru's Love?" I said incredulously, "there is only one in all of Hyrule!"

"Thank the goddesses then that it is mine," he smiled, balancing the diamond over my head. "Now, I won't be able to heal your dreams; it is not my place. But I can halt the ghosts you seem to be seeing. Is that all right?" I nodded meekly. Who was I to question one who was so in favor with the goddesses?

"This may feel unusual…" I could hear nothing else as blue light engulfed my body. It felt like a waterfall had conjured over my head, but the water felt as though it was clean. It poured through my eyes, nose and mouth, washing my blood clean. The man seemed to be murmuring something over my head that I could not hear over the roar of water. Involuntarily, my hand rose, fingers spread."Gwanno ereb nin!" I could faintly hear. Something black dripped out of my hand, becoming diluted in the water. And then there was silence.

"Breathe!" the man insisted, shaking my shoulders. I tried to remember what breathing was and I coughed up water on my first attempts. The man sighed with relief, slumping against the kitchen counter.

"That was… harder then I expected," the man panted. I looked down at myself, realizing I was dry. The man smiled.

"Thank you," I gasped around my breath.

"I didn't tell you my name, did I?" said the man. I shook my head.

"Ah, well anyway, I'm Link." He offered a hand, which I shook baffledly. Link was a common character in the gossip my chatty neighbors told, each of the aging elves sighing airily as they daydreamed about him and his allegedly cute butt.

He was told to have made friends with the Gorons, the Zorans, the Gerudo people, the Hylian people, and was practically so in favor of the goddesses, he could have taken over all of Hyrule with a feather. And he was sitting here? In my kitchen! When did I last wash the floor? As this was whirling around in my head, I gave him my name back, though I could barely remember it.

"Helen." He nodded solemnly.

"Although I had planned on leaving today, I think the healing took more out of both of us then is good for traveling," he said. I blinked at this. It was not that I did not want to leave, rather that I had never left. I was nineteen years old and had never left my father's house. How pathetic does that sound? _Pretty pathetic,_ agreed my brain. _But then again, there is nothing for you here, _said my heart. I simply nodded in agreement.

"Right. Until tomorrow then." Link slid off the table and slipped out the door, leaving all of his things on the table. He would be back then. I flopped onto a bed in the next room, exhausted.

"At least there are no ghosts to tuck me in," I said as sleep overtook me.

* * *

The dream was just as vivid as ever. I awoke with a start; a drop of cold sweat trickled down my back. My scar felt warm when I rubbed it, but I shook myself mentally. _The dream was real the first time, _reasoned my heart. _It could happen again._

_I certainly hope not_, I answered. It was silent. I suddenly became aware that Link's breathing had changed. I turned my head to find him staring at me.

"You were right," I said, my words trumpeting in the silence. Link got out of his bed and padded over to mine.

"Dreams are not the worst thing to be plagued with all your life," he sighed, weaving my bedsheets through his fingers, "You could be harassed by… fan girls. Or guys in your case." I laughed.

"It must be hard, to have your fame shadow you always," I said. Link was silent. "You cannot be cured of it."

"Sometimes, it is," he said quietly, "But I can't turn back. I am what I am, regardless of what I feel about it."

"You have more courage then I do," I said.

"That is why I was chosen," he smiled, "Ah fate, my fickle friend. Where does the circle start? Was I chosen because I most embodied courage? Or was it simply fate that brought me near the battle? Even the sages cannot agree." Link yawned loudly, blinking away the sleep that hovered close to his consciousness.

"We had better get to sleep while the night is still young," he said, padding back over to his bed and covering his head with the blankets.

"Where are we headed?" I asked, but there was no answer. Link's breath came in the slow sighs of sleep, but I knew better. I could feel his eyes on the wall. _He isn't trustworthy!_ crowed my brain. _Ah, leave him alone,_ I chastised, _if he doesn't want to say, then it is probably for a good reason._ Even so, I could feel a shadow of doubt slither into my mind.

The morning seemed to be pissed that we were up before it was, so it sent a large storm to announce the beginning of our journey. I sat on a stool watching the rain dripping from the eves of the roof. It mirrored my feelings in a way; I was sad for leaving the only home I had ever known. My father and I had built it ourselves, though I mostly cooed while playing with nails. Who knows what would happen to it while I was gone? Hopefully it would stay abandoned until I returned, but my mind played various heartbreaking scenarios for me as Link rummaged around the house.

My pack was by the door, filled with only necessities. Link, however, was putting everything he could find that might be useful into his seemingly bottomless bag. A gleam of silver caught my eye; Link's megaton hammer lay on the shelf beside a jar of homemade jam. I picked it up, not thinking. It immediately dropped to the floor with a thunk.

"What is this made of!" I exclaimed as I strained to pick it up. Link popped his head out from the bedroom door.

"Oh, I'll get that," he said. He picked up the hammer with one hand and pushed it into the bag. _Oh goddesses help me!_ I thought, my face turning red. This was just ridiculous. Link didn't seem to notice me; he was rummaging through my cupboards.

"Well, I think that is that," he said finally. My house was picked clean of imperishable goods. He shouldered his bag and stepped out into the torrential rain, his hair immediately flattening into his eyes.

"Hurry before I drown!" he shouted. I slipped the bag around my shoulders, glancing around the room to memorize the way it was… just in case and I locked the door behind me with a nod. One part of my life was over. Another was just beginning. I stepped into the flood of water, becoming soaked through within seconds. Link grinned and walked down the road with me following like a waif. _I don't think that smile was entirely appropriat_e, exclaimed my brain. I just smiled. The stories I had heard about his butt were true after all.

* * *

_Hehe, I'm so bad... lol_


	3. Chapter 3

Hyrule Field is big. Huge. Titanic, in fact. Usually, my vision was obscured by a forest's worth of trees. But this field grew very little but monsters. The rain didn't break until mid-afternoon, when it finally decided that if we were going to ignore it, it might as well just go take a nap instead. Instead, the sun played with shadows, showing its dazzling array of effects. I was impressed.

Link had a story for every stone and hill. Here is where Epona tripped and he was ejected into a river. There is where he fell his first poe. I didn't mind that he didn't stop talking for hours. I was overwhelmed with the sheer magnitude of the place I was walking in.

"I am sorry to ramble like this," laughed Link after a while," but I have never had so attentive an audience."

"Does Princess Zelda not listen to your stories?" I asked. It was a loaded question which I expected him to dodge, but he took the hit.

"No. No, she is usually busy with something. As am I," he said. "Ah! There is Lon Lon Ranch now." Link pointed to a walled enclosure about 5 miles away. He scanned the remaining distance, eying me as I slung my bag over my other shoulder.

"Hm. Let's…stop here for the night," he said finally. I was a bit peeved at this because I did not know his intent. If he thought that I was another delicate female, he had something coming for him; I could split an arrow in a target while riding a horse, I could beat my father at swordsmanship, and, as I had just learned, fate had taken a special interest in me. Just to let off some steam, I gathered branches and slammed together a fire.

And so, evening passed into night in silence. When I finally went to sleep, my dream was different then normal, though it slipped through the cracks in my memory as soon as I awoke. I dreamed of wind, of fire, of water, and of endless plains. A women dressed in yellow weaved in and out of my unconsciousness, and when I awoke in the morning, I could feel her name on the tip of my tongue, though it was lost to my memory.

* * *

The gray dawn found us eating a small breakfast under the tree. Link watched me consume an apple with relish, having only bread and jam himself. When I finally finished it, I fished out another and threw it to him with a laugh. I found it strange that the hero of so many lands was jealous of my food. But perhaps tales exaggerate truth until the protagonists can break trees with their little fingers, or walk on water. As we were packing up, I wondered if I would ever have tales made about me. _Not that I would want it_, I thought with a frown, _I just want to live my life for myself._ Of course, Link was watching my face with interest, which I realized when I looked up.

"Is something amiss?" I asked. Link laughed and said nothing. It was eerie, but he seemed to have some ability to guess what I was thinking. Perhaps my face is too readable.

As we reached the walls of the ranch, I began to notice a purple cloud trailing the edges of my eyes. It bothered me, but I said nothing. I suppose I was still angry from the night before, but I also have too much pride to ask for help. What could he do anyway? Give me purple fog eye drops? The closer we got to the ranch, the worse the fog got, until we entered the ranch and everything was tinged amethyst.

A high pitched scream suddenly issued from a window to our left. A girl with red, elbow length hair ran from the door to the house and jumped into Link's arms.

"I haven't seen you in years!" she cried through her cascade of hair. His grin seemed somewhat awkward to me, but she didn't seem to notice; she pulled off her apron and flung it in the door in an attempt to become more attractive.

"Malon, I don't believe that you have met Helen. Helen, Malon." Link said. We shook hands and her palms were as rough as sandpaper. As Link put on hand on Malon's back to guide her forward, I looked at my own. _You haven't done much physical labor outside of gardening,_ sneered my brain. _Oh leave her alone. She has enough scars on the rest of her body to make up for it, _said my heart. It was true; I had more sword scars then a practice dummy. _Not physical ones honey,_ it replied.

Malon talked faster then an express train; I only caught the words "faerie boy" and "adventure" but even those were hard to find. Perhaps it was the heaviness of the air which made me tired. When I had walked pass the house, it had felt as though someone had dropped a lead noose over my head. I could neither breathe nor hear nor see. _I think you should tell Link now,_ said my heart. I agreed

As we walked passed the iron rails of the paddocks, some of the horses sniffed me through the bars. I assumed it was because they had never seen me before, but one never knows with horses. Sometimes they can read a person better than someone could know themselves.

Malon's rapid-fire ranting suddenly halted as a copper colored horse halted a few feet away. It pawed the ground nervously and dust rose around its hooves, tossing its head agitatedly. I stepped forward slowly, letting her see my every movement, not caring that the conversation behind me had ceased to exist. The horse was skittery, and backed away one step. I froze waiting for it to accept me. After thirty seconds of careful observation, the horse casually closed the distance between us, and nuzzled the top of my head. Laughing softly, I plunged my hands deep into her snow white mane, and rested my head under her nose as she snuffled the hair on the top of my head. The incredulous silence was ruptured when Link finally spoke.

"Helen?" he said finally.

"Mhm?" The horse snorted and licked my nose as the girl behind me squealed. Link put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me until I faced him.

"Do you know Epona?" My face went blank with astonishment. Link's horse was famous for being completely aloof. She often spent most of her time at the ranch, but on especially clear days, you could hear the faint wail of an ocarina and the trail of dust the horse left behind as she galloped to the summons.

"She seems to like you," he said. I smiled as she started to chew on the end of my braid. Link came up beside me and scratched Epona's nose thoughtfully.

"Is something wrong?" Link asked after a pause. Epona bumped my head with her nose until I was looking into his eyes. He searched my face, flames growing behind his eyes as he realized what I wasn't saying.

"Tell me what's wrong," he hissed through clenched teeth.

I took a breath to steady my nerves from the fit he was going to throw when he found out what I had been hiding, but I realized that I no longer felt strange. My vision had been completely repaired and the weight of my body was gone. I grinned momentarily, and then looked into Link's face. He was frozen in a look of pure anger, everything around him slowed to a standstill. I backed up a few steps, my mind disbelieving.

"What?" I said quizzically. The silence lay thickly over the paddock. I got no response.

"Link?" He stood inertly. Something moved in the corner of my eye.

"Who's there?" I called. The silence answered me back. A horse was suspended in midair over a jump, the clouds hanging, precariously it seemed, in a standstill over my head. I was shivering nervously when a sharp point pressed against my cheek. With a yelp, I leaped back, causing the frozen arrow to scrape my cheek. Wiping away the trickle of blood, I looked at the arrow wonderingly.

Another movement snatched my attention, and I immediately cocked an arrow. A black shadow darted across the field. Even though everything around was moving in another time, it moved with surprising grace and speed. Pulling the string of my bow taught, I let an arrow fly into the heart of the shadow. A piercing scream ensued from within the creature, but it did not seem to be injured. It glided quickly across the ground, aimed straight at me. Right before it would have hit me, it ran through Link and disappeared with a black hiss. It seemed the ranch gave a satisfied sigh before everything returned to normal.

The arrow that had grazed my cheek continued its path, and let out a thwack as it sunk into the earth beside me. A wide eyed Link trailed off in mid-chastisement as he turned is gaze to the arrow, right in time for a drop of blood from my scrape to drip on the ground. He traced the line in my cheek, glaring at me with such intensity that it felt like I would set aflame if I didn't avert my eyes.

"We are leaving. Now!" he said, his voice laced with fury. He vaulted onto Epona without touching the stirrups and kicked her into a gallop. Before I knew it, he had cleared a wall and had left me alone. Quietly, Malon pressed the reins to a grey stallion into my hand.

"Follow him before he gets too angry," she said gently. I quickly mounted the horse and jumped the wall. I should have been surprised to have cleared a twenty foot wall, but all emotion was crushed by molten fury.

"Take good care of my faerie boy," murmured Malon after I had left. "He needs you more then you know."

* * *

For the love of god, review! Just tell me its crap and I will love you forever 


	4. Chapter 4

Link was angry. No angry is not a good word. Livid. His hands gripped Epona's reins until she flattened her ears back in annoyance, stretching her neck to try to get more slack.

My gray peered back at me with the whites of her eyes.

"I know," I sighed, scratching its forelock gently. "I know." I looked forward and found that Link was glaring at me with clouded eyes. When our eyes met, it was as though I had wounded him with an arrow and he dropped the reins in shock. With a groan, Link buried his head into his hands.

Epona continued walking good-naturedly, but not before turning to direct my horse to catch up. I muffled a surprised yelp as it shot from a meander to a streaming gallop, careening to a walk right next to Epona. The horses sniffed each other curiously.

Our horses had gotten so close that our stirrups had gotten tied together. Dropping my reins, I put one hand on the back of Link's saddle, praying that one of the two wouldn't break into anything faster then what we were currently doing, and slid down the saddle to contemplate the knot.

Through his fingers, Link saw me slide down and grasped me by the waist before I was able to finger the knot. I shrieked as he somehow managed to get my left leg over onto the right side of the horse; I was sitting on the saddle like a couch, facing him. I could feel tears well behind my eyes, though I could not explain why they were there. Pride kept them from falling

"Why?" he asked simply. I was quiet though my blood was screaming answers and excuses. Or maybe just a mixture of the two. Link captured my hands in his and squeezed gently, as if he didn't believe I was there.

"You can trust me," Link said gravely.

"I... I do trust you." I tried to pull away from his hands, but he added pressure.

"Link, I trust you. You have helped me through things I never knew I faced, but I still feel as though I don't know you." He gave me a pained look, his eyes growing a deeper blue until they looked black.

"Who are you really? Who is your mother? What would you want to do if you weren't what you are? Did you ever break a limb when you were younger? Have you ever been in l-?" I stuffed the last question back in my mouth before I went too far

Link was silent, though the blue of his eyes cleared a bit.

"I don't really know the answers to any of those questions," he said, his voice wavering, "but, I almost lost you. It will kill me if you died for something I could prevent." He caught my gaze, the sheer intensity of his stare told me that he was telling me the truth. My mouth moved, but no words were forming

"I... I can't…Um, you don't-" His face hardened. The thing I was trying to say wasn't coming out right, and the look on his face just made it worse. "I… You don't…um...understa-"

"No" he interrupted. "I understand." He sighed. Somehow, my stirrup slithered out of the knot, and Link took advantage of the opportunity to urge Epona to a fast canter toward the entrance to the desert. My horse turned his head and snorted at me, from then on refusing to listen to what I wanted it to do.

"How does everything I do end up insulting someone?" I asked it. The horse snapped me in the back with its tail.

_Link doesn't understand,_ I lamented to myself, rubbing the sore spot on my back, _we have both been independent for so long that we cannot trust another with our weaknesses. He won't even give me a chance to explain myself! _I huffed in frustration when something caught my eye. Link rolled his shoulders and dismounted suddenly.

"We lead our horses on foot from here," he said without turning around. Epona bucked slightly in his hand, but he jerked hard on the reins and she stopped with a humanlike whimper. He glared at her and led her up the bridge. My horse bobbed his head as I snapped a lead rein on under her chin, following Link stoically.

"He's just angry," I justified to the horse quietly enough for only him to hear. It was then that the edge of a cliff appeared suddenly below my feet.

Wobbling, I felt my body shift forward, and the ground below me crumbled. I managed to grab on to a piece of rock, and watched the rubble fall into the rushing water below me. I looked up wildly at Link

"Help!" He looked at me stoically. I started to lift myself up alone, when a boot crushed my fingers.

"Fall," Link laughed. He lifted his boot up and my fingers slipped off the ledge.

"No!" I cried, but the wind snatched away my words. I plunged toward the water facing the sky, able to watch Link regard me with a malicious smile as I fell. Rocks were descending all around me, skipping off my skin as they descended toward the water.

The wind roared around me, grasping my braid and unraveling it. I tried to breathe, but the air pushed by with such force that I couldn't get a grasp on it. Link's smirking face turned stunned and he snatched helplessly at the air, as if to pull me up by invisible strings.

Arrows scattered everywhere, my sword fell beside me. Wind again pushed the breath from my lungs, and by accident, my hand hit the sword. My palm started bleeding heavily, but the thought of not having a weapon pushed me to catch it. Just as my sword clicked into its sheath, I hit the river with a sickening smack, water filling my mouth, ears, eyes, and was swept away like dirt under a mat.

I swam with all my might toward the surface, my lungs burning for lack of air, limbs screaming with pain; I just prayed I hadn't broken anything important. With a gasp my head bobbed above the surface for a moment, allowing me a small breath of oxygen. With black edging at the sides of my vision, I tried to swim to shore but pain spread like fire over my entire body. Allowing my body to be pushed by the current, I felt a dark shadow pass over the sun. Then darkness and endless laughter.

**Dramatic Pause... DUM DUM DUM! Sorry. The author likes to make bad jokes.**

* * *

A wave of pain left me reeling as I heaved my body from the water. Like a fish on land, I couldn't breathe right. Rocking back and forth like a child, I waited until I could take a full breath. I didn't try to stand, I was nauseous already, and it wasn't from the fall. _What in hell just happened?_ I could recall only darkness for the moment. 

"Ughh," I groaned. Everything hurt. _Including your heart_ came an unbidden thought. I squashed it before I had to think about it. Right now, I was only concerned for survival.

A quick glance around the lake didn't help; only crumbling ruins, a building, and a solitary tree changed the drabness of the lake. A sign near the building said it was the home of a mad scientist. _I told you he was crazy! _cried my brain in triumph. _You might not want to mix with any more crazies, just in case._ My heart said nothing. A lone tree was my only option; it was dead, but the sun beat down on me fiercely and I desperately wanted to live. Avoiding sun stroke was within my best interests.

Groaning, I slowly eased to my feet. With a hiss, I lowered my right arm to my side. Blood flowed from a deep gash on my palm. I ripped the bottom part of my tunic and wrapped it around it to stop the worst of the flow but the blood just continued. When something tickled my cheek, I brushed it away, just to find that blood was dripping from and a small cut on my nose. With a sigh, I lurched forward and stepped cautiously over the wooden bridge, leaving a gleaming trail of liquid behind me. As I limped along, I was frustrated to find my ankle was sprained. With my good arm, I dragged myself toward the tree.

Everything seemed so completely hopeless. _He asks me to trust him and then he pushed me over a cliff. What was I thinking?_ I had to get home, but I couldn't walk with gashes and a sprained ankle all the way to the forest. Now I was stuck in the middle of nowhere._ Great. Just wonderful._ Hot tears rolled down my cheeks, mixing with the blood sending red rivers flowing onto the bridge and coloring the water. At least I was alive, which was a miracle.

Slowly rotating each part of my body, I checked for broken bones. Strangely, there were none. With the velocity that I was traveling at, I should have broken something, but I was only bruised, cut, and sprained. My legs were covered in tiny nicks from the rocks, but they would heal soon enough.

Minutes dragged along under the tree. With the help of the sword, I was able to cut off enough of my tunic to stem the flow from my hand for a while, but I knew infection would set in if I didn't clean it soon. I must have sat there for hours, because before I knew it, the sun was behind the mountains. With no food, no shelter, and no clean water around, this was a lousy place to be lost in. Mercifully, the gentle lapping of the waves on the shore finally put the throbbing pain away and I succumbed to sleep.

* * *

My dream was on full blast when I awoke suddenly to a sharp poke on the head. The grey horse snorted gently on my cheek and pushed at my head. 

"Uff...all right, I'm awake." Groggily, I reached out for his reins and pulled myself up. Even though my body throbbed rhythmically, nothing was seriously painful. With only three tries I managed to vault myself onto the saddle, and turn the horse in the general direction of north. (Moss on the north side of a tree?) Ok, so in reality I had no idea where I was going, but somewhere was better than no where. Luckily, my horse's saddle bags had some old bread in them, so I managed to collect enough food to sustain me for a while. For some reason, the horse seemed to know where he was going, so I just sat back and enjoyed the view. Early autumn was upon the world already, and the trees were beginning to respond. Leaves rustled softly in the trees, outlined in golds, pinks, yellow, oranges, and crimsons. A solitary leaf fluttered off the tree and floated gently on the surface of the lake. Walls soon blocked my vision, and I returned to grimly staring between my horses's bobbing ears.

My legs started to ache by the time we reached the walls of the ranch, and I was forced to dismount. The horse tossed his head when ever I tried to attach the lead rope I had found in his pack, so I left him alone. Nibbling on some old bread hungrily, I couldn't help thinking that I should go to Hyrule Town. The flickering fires called with warmth and shelter. The path beckoned with home. _I don't want to stay here, but I don't think I can make it home before nightfall._

"Well, what do you think?" I asked the horse, who was munching on some longer prairie grasses nearby. He snorted and tossed his head.  
"You don't seem to like it there, do you? It's just as well. I should return you and go home." Just as I was turning the horse, the clouds broke, sending torrential rain down upon the whole meadow. The storm must have pulled up suddenly, because when I left the lake, the sun was still barely visible from above the lines of mountains.

Wind screamed down, whipping around us and leaving us reeling. Between the crash of thunder and the din of the storm, it almost seemed as though an ocarina song was weaved into the wind, but the wind was probably deceiving me, for who would be out here willingly? The only way to escape the storm was to enter the ranch or the town. My heart pulled toward the town; the ranch was too dangerous if I wanted to stay away from Link and the town was much more interesting. Quickly mounting the horse, I urged him to a low canter, and headed toward the town.

* * *

The town bridge sported no guards; neither did the plaza. Everyone seemed to have retreated in the face of the storm. The rattling of a sign turned my attention to a cozy looking inn and I was right. As soon as I handed my horse to the awestruck stable boy, and opened the door to the inn I could feel the comfort radiating out from the room. 

It was nothing special, but it seemed so homey. A fire crackled in a stone fireplace at one end of the room. A hodge podge of chairs and tables were strategically placed around the room with various table settings arranged in front of the chairs. The throng created a din of noise; flowing around the room and banishing shadows from every corner. The people all had burnt yellow hair and bright colored clothes; flashes of viridian and cerulean came from everywhere. No one turned to stare at me, but I still felt out of place with my green hair and forest colored garb, not to mention my limp and bruises.

"Hey missy? Whatcha doin just standin at the door? Come in! Come in!" the innkeeper cried cheerfully from the bar. I turned to see a plump woman dressed in ochre yellow wave at me.

"What cannai do fer you?" she said brightly. Suddenly, I felt self-conscious about my eastern accent and tried to copy hers. Unfortunately, no words came out.

"She's a strange one I tell ya. Not sayn a word!" she muttered to the person standing next to her. She gestured to the back and spoke slow and loud "Do ya need a room?"

"Oh, oh yes! Yes, I do." I rushed.

"Ah, an easterner! Not a wonda ya so shy. Follow me lass!" With this, she weaved deftly through the crowd toward a darker corner of the inn. Smoke hung lazily in the air, masking any people sitting back here. People sat back here, chatting merrily, even though I couldn't see them that well in the haze. The only person who sat alone was hidden by a black cloak, soaked (like me) from the rain. The hood turned my way when the innkeeper rushed by, his eyes glowing from reflected light. I slowed, my body feeling very heavy and cold. Suddenly, the innkeeper thrust a hand to my forehead. "Aai! Lass, ya be gettin sick now! Ya must be sleepin or ya willn be dead asa doornail 'fore thn week is out!" She gestured to a door in a dim hallway.

" 'ere we are love. Sleep tightly now!" She flashed a smile before flitting back through the tables.

The room was as mismatched as the tables, but it was cozy all the same. I carefully untied my sword from my leather belt and propped it up in the corner. With a sudden flash of panic, I jangled my pockets to find just enough change for one night. Nothing seemed as good as a nice feather bed, so I flopped into bed and fell asleep immediately.

* * *

_I have fans! cries happily Well, anyway, any constructive critisims that you have would be more then appreciated, or any hate rants as well. _

_What the heck made Link push Helen? Has the author gone mad? No one may ever know... until a later chapter ;)_


	5. Chapter 5

The sun nudged at my eyes, shaking the last bits of my nightmare from my memory. I had fallen asleep with my clothes on and everything was rumpled.

"Now I definitely look like a country bumpkin..." I muttered dreary. I tested my ankle and found it to be healing nicely, to my great satisfaction. Perhaps things would turn out all right after all.

After collecting the various things I had sprawled on the table and the floor, I picked my way through the empty dining room, paid the innkeeper, who still enquired after my health, and returned to the stables.

The gray was restless when I finally found him. The stable was surprisingly empty; all the tools still had the glitter that they must have had when they were bought. My horse poked his head over the stall door, and shot me a reproachful look.

"Mmm? What's wrong?" Just a peek inside the stall told me all I needed to know. There was no straw on the ground, no food, no water, and he wasn't even wearing a blanket! The horse snorted impatiently, and pushed at my shoulder.

"Yeah... I know. Let's get out of here. This place makes me nervous," I clipped a lead rope to his harness and lead him out of the back alley. The market square was already bustling with people. Shoppers stared at me strangely, and people began to whisper in each others ears. Uncertainly, I headed out toward the bridge. People streamed in and out of the gate, and I just slipped out along with a caravan heading toward the river. As soon as the horse's hoofs hit the grass, he pranced and reared. Quickly, I unsnapped his lead rope, and let him run. He rolled in the grass, whinnying happily and munching contentedly on grass.

"Is that your horse?" A low voice flowed calmly from behind me. I turned to find the man in black from the earlier night. Even though the sun was in the right position to reveal his face, his hood cast a deep black shadow

"No. Why, pray tell, do you ask?" His eyes glowed from under his hood.

"Not many horses come to Hyrule castle," The man said.

"Yes, I suppose that's true." I agreed, thinking of the stable at the inn. My horse suddenly walked in front of me, separating the man from my view. I tried to walk around him, but whenever I moved, he followed.

"What's wrong?" I smoothed a hand over its side, feeling his heart pounding through its ribs. He was covered in a thin coat of sweat, though I was cold enough to shiver.

"It seems as though my horse is impatient to leave… I must go." I mounted my horse quickly, and was about to gallop off when the man caught my stirrup. An icy feeling spread up my leg.

"Be careful on the road," he warned with a smile. His teeth glowed wetly in his shadow. "These are dangerous times." I nodded faintly. With a click of my tongue, I flew across the ground, following a road toward home. I could return the horse after I put this whole escapade behind me.

* * *

"Damn." A man watched the elfish girl ride away from a tower high up on the castle wall. He pounded a fist on the wall and let loose a string of loud curses in a strange language. Even though many people were in hearing range of these loud and colorful words, not one of them turned. _If only I was stronger_ he thought. _She should have noticed how he was in shadow, though it is sunny outside.._ As he watched silently, a man in black turned and walked back toward the castle. The man nodded up at the window as he passed by. A ray of sunlight glinted off his smile as he walked into the castle and out of sight.

"Oh Narssa, aid us," The man looking out said softly. A picture of the man in black touching Helen's leg came unbidden. _He touched her!_ He shivered in disgust. His hand clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white and a triangle glowed faintly on the back of his hand.

* * *

The man in black strode through the gate with a spring in his step and a song in his heart. The guards nodded to him as he passed by the gate and through the plaza. _Everything was going exactly as planned_, he thought. A satisfied smile curled on his lips. He walked through the gate toward the castle bridge, which the guard on duty had lowered with a smile. A chubby man with a glazed look in his eye bowed stiffly at him as he entered.

"Good evening my lord Ganondorf. And how are you this evening?" the man said, his expression contorting for a moment, but quickly returning to the glazed stare. Ganondorf chuckled.

"Ah, you know as well as I do, that will never work," The other man just stared blankly. They had both reached an inner chamber. A large table with a map and a couple figurines lay in a large beam of light from a candle with a blue flame. Something moved imperceptibly toward Ganondorf, who now looked perfectly at home. The shadow whispered something in his ear, and the man in black's face turned pouty. A sigh of exasperation crossed his face, and he strode toward the map. Without touching the figurine, he lifted it, and it imploded in the air.

"It is of no matter to me. But, it was to you, wasn't it, eh 'King'?" He turned to the man with the blank stare, and smiled. The King's glazed look changed for just a moment; just enough to show the look of a broken man in his eyes.Ganondorf swept off his hood, and put a dusky tan hand through his ruddy hair.

"All will be mine soon." An evil light glinted in his yellow eyes.

* * *

In another dimension, the sages watched the proceedings from a rip in the zone. Darunia, a Goron, Impa, a tall gray haired woman with steel gray eyes, and Nabooru, a red haired Gerudo, stood around the rip and murmured softly.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." said Nabooru, the jangles in her hair tinkling gently as she shook her head. The Goron raised his arms angrily and pointed at the flashing images in the rip.

"No, really! Ganondorf is stronger than we have ever seen him. He has taken the whole forest and turned it into the dark enemy's all night dance party, and all we are doing is sitting by and letting him destroy the world! We have to take action!" He looked around pleadingly, but the other sages were silent. Finally, Impa spoke.

"I agree that something isn't right, but Link has always handled it in the past, why should we interfere now?" Darunia was hopping up and down on one leg now.

"Link this, Link that. Link doesn't always have to be the one to do this. Look at the kid! How would you feel if every year you had to go save the world? Don't you think that is a little bit of a burden?" All eyes turned to the rip, which had stopped on an image of a blonde haired elf looking out of a tower window. His hand rested lightly on the sill, and a triangle glowed brightly on the back. The sages shifted uncomfortably. From the back of the room, Sara, a short green haired elf, began to speak.

"We made a mistake," she said slowly, "We made a mistake, and it is time we fixed it. I will go to the forest and stop Helen before she goes too far into it. This is the time for the sages to help Hyrule, and not stand idly by while another does the dirty work." She stamped her foot angrily, and faded into a band of green light.

The sages were silent as they watched the band dissolve, but they could not suppress their shock when a tall gray cloaked person stepped into the center of the ring. She had gray cloth wrapped around her legs, connected to a skin-tight gray shirt. A gray cloth covered her mouth and hair, and the only thing that you would ever be able to use to identify her, was a large red eye centered on her chest. The sages gaped as she removed the cloth obstructing her face, and blonde hair settled around her head.

"Zelda!"

"I got caught tracking Ganondorf over the canyon," she sighed. "He had taken over Link and pushed Helen over the edge." She averted her eyes from the sage's watchful gaze. "He's becoming too practiced at this. He is learning he has powers that we never could imagine. I couldn't fight him" she said. All eyes turned toward the rip, which now sported the image of Helen riding as fast as the wind toward the forest. Darunia shook his head, eyes wide.

"Sara better hurry. Helen won't last alone." He said increduesly.

* * *

I flew across the ground like an arrow in the air, or at least as fast as my horse could run comfortably. The land was all the same; trees, rocks, and plains as far as the eye could see. _Oh man, _I thought uncomfortably,_ this is going to be monotonous. _The only indicator that we were actually going somewhere was the sun; which had curved down to the west by the time the horse began to slow. Instantly, I recognized the entrance to the forest; my home! Overwhelming relief pulsed through my veins, and I pulled the horse up short of the bridge leading to the entrance. Through my happiness, I could feel an air of nervousness coming from him.

"What's wrong, guy? There is nothing here!" The horse bucked agitatedly and snorted. Something had to be wrong for him to do something like this. I peered into the thick darkness beyond the bridge, but nothing stirred. With a sigh, I put one hand on his forehead and tried to calm him

"Nothing is wrong. Look, I'll bring you with me. I've got a sword, even if there is something. Would you quiet down?" He shook his head nervously, but I could feel he was less tense than before. I grabbed a handful of reins, and lead him gently on. But as soon as his hooves hit the bridge, he reared violently, and scrambled away.

"Fine. Have it that way." In a rush, I stomped off, entering the forest, but the sudden darkness that hit me taking away all traces of happiness. I had never seen my homeland so dark before; the forest filtered out light, but nothing like this. The black hummed like something that lived, and took away all of my senses. I went a little further into the glen, until I could at least see my hand in front of my face. The dark seemed to enwrap me, and I found it hard to move any farther, so I halted in front of a large black shape. I reached out a tentative hand, and brushed my fingers over the surface, and found it to be a tree. Abruptly, lights began to blink on all over the darkness. A cold surge rushed down my spine and I swallowed hard. _These aren't lights_ I thought while panic began to spread, _they are eyes._

Without warning, all of the eyes began to move, with a frightening speed, at me. I tumbled over a couple that had gathered at my feet, and was instantly pinned down with the weight of another two. I struggled helplessly as the things began to surge all over me, and bind my legs and arms to the ground.

The blackness that had blinded me before, was now giving way to streaks of purple, like long arms that would swallow anything near them. The long tentacles began to reach for me, taking the place of the creatures in holding me down. As soon as one of them wrapped itself completely around my wrist, a sharp pain jolted my arm and flowed down my spine. Slowly, I stopped struggling. My arms and legs felt like lead; I couldn't fight them. My eyelids began to get heavy and I almost allowed myself to sleep.

I barely registered a flash of green off to my right, and the creatures slowly retreating. The tentacles slipped away, leaving me alone on the ground. A short greenish person stood beside me, and whispered something strange into my ear. Blackness filled my mind, and I felt no more.

* * *

A cool breath of air lead me to consciousness and I breathed deeply. It smelled like the forest in the rain; moist, dark, and energetic. I stared up at the dimming sky and sighed happily. Suddenly, everything hit me like a slap in the face._ My home is gone!_ Everything I had ever known was gone, gone forever. I sat up with a jolt, and was met face to face with a young girl. She blinked, startled but suddenly clamped a hand over mine, to keep me from moving. I jerked away from her and leaped to my feet.

"What do you want!" I stood my ground, and sent her a venomous glare. She stood unruffled, and then started to laugh. Anger boiled through my veins. _I wonder if she would laugh with the point of a sword in her throat..._ I stood still for a moment, and then leaped at her with all I could muster. She cut laughing before I could touch her, and tried to sidestep my attack, but I had come too quickly. I sliced through what felt like her side, and whipped around, ready for anything. The girl stood surrounded by a green light, unscathed. She laughed; a quick tinkling sound, like bells.

"You are every bit of what I imagined you to be!" She laughed. I shifted my stance.

"I am glad I could lighten your day," I said, my voice dripping with malice, "But I prefer my victims to be dead when I hit them, not chuckling." She blinked, startled, and gaped like a fish. I shot one more glare her way, and strode away into the plain.

The girl recovered from her surprise, and galloped after me; her short legs racing to catch up with my furious gate.

"No, no you have it wrong! I was sent by the sages," she panted as she tried to jog beside me. I snorted.

"I bet you are a sage." She shot me a stunned look and continued to trot beside me.

"Yes, I was trying to t-..."

"No," I cut. "Whatever it is, no. I want no part of whatever grand scheme you have in mind," She grabbed my hand, and pulled me to a stop. Breathing hard, she tried to recover before talking. I noticed she looked like a kid, and an elfish kid at that. Green tunic, green hair, green eyes, all clues pointed in the direction of a Kokiri elf.

"Link...needs you... he's been cap-." I laughed arrogantly.

"I don't want to be a part of that anymore!" I screamed at her. "All this has done for me is to destroy my home, destroy my friendships, and destroy whatever was left of my life!" _Not to mention your heart,_ said my brain. I began to stomp away when she began to shout at me.

"Halt!" She called forcefully. My legs snapped out from under me, and I landed on my knees. "Are you telling me, that you are giving up?" A pulse of sharp pain traveled up my spine as her voice rose.

"I...just want to be left alone," I grimaced as white fire flashed up my spine. The girl's eyes flashed with anger; fair and terrible, angry and confused. Darkness seemed to gather around her, like a dog ready to pounce on an intruder. I turned my head away from her as she came closer. I couldn't bear to be near her any longer, but her power kept me clamped to the ground.

Suddenly, her hold on me loosened, and the dark aura around her had slunk away. She returned to her dull elfin looks, and became suddenly wary.

"Why?" she said simply. I said nothing. "Being alone has only caused yourself pain," she thought aloud, her expression softening, "Why would you want to go back to that?"

"Some pain is easier to withstand then others," I muttered. She sat down beside me, and looked at me thoughtfully.

"Link wouldn't do that," she said slowly, "I don't know..." She was silent for what seemed like a long time; lost in thought. Seizing the opportunity, I slowly began to inch away from her, and she didn't notice. Only a foot away, I sprang foreword, and sprinted away.

"Wait, you don't understand!" she cried, and began to race after me. I ignored her, and continued to run for all I was worth. Suddenly, the thud of feet stopped behind me, and I turned as I ran to see what happened. There was no one there. I stopped and looked around, but there was only empty space. I wanted to cry. "All I want is my life back," I said thickly. Gazing behind me, a dark cloud obscured the entrance to my home. _Somehow I have the feeling that I can't go back._ What could I do? I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't anymore. I pinched myself hard on the arm, but nothing happened. _So, I wasn't dreaming_ I desperately wanted to wake up, find that this thing had been one huge misunderstanding. _Why did Link push me over the edgef? _My body began to ache, warning me that I hadn't fully healed yet. I took a deep breath. First, I needed shelter, and food. A memory came back, of a sign behind Link's head as he turned to lead Epona.

"Horses, hm? I can handle that," I said. However uncomfortable the memories would be, I couldn't go back to the shadows. Finding a job was my only option, the farther away from Link the better.


	6. Chapter 6

The man in the tower began to pace, extremely restless. The sun had started to sink, and the plain should have been filled with the golden rays of day's end. Instead, a large, thick mist covered the ground. The castle door had been closed early today, since no one could see where they were going. He brushed back a piece of his blonde hair with a shaky hand, and halted at the window again. _Everything is going so wrong. _The boy looked dismally down at the plain for any sign of life. A ruddy part of the cloud moved abruptly, and he strained for a closer look. _Is that...?_ The figure moved closer to the moat, and the mist parted ceremoniously for it.

"No," he said softly. The figure was actually a horse. It was covered in blood and dirt, and its saddle was hanging by the stirrup caught in its tail. Long purple burns covered its rear. The horse looked mournfully up at the tower, and bobbed its head before being enveloped in the mist again. _If I saw what I thought I saw, _he thought_ that must be Helen's horse. _

He smacked a hand on the wall._ Why is he playing with me like this? He could have both of us by now. _He breathed deeply. _Helen's fine. I would have felt it if she had been... killed._ The boy snorted ruefully. _It wouldn't have been the first time today I would feel that. _He glanced momentarily at the triforce on his hand. It was fading. Anger pulsed through him, and he abruptly tried to put his hand through the window. It sparked for a moment before sending a crackle of sharp pain up his arm. He jerked away and cradled his fist, which was already turning red and bleeding. He looked at the sword that Ganondorf had given him back.

"_If you give up, just use that. It will end it without the torture that I will put you through." The man in black had sneered._

_"You can't touch me!" he had spat._

_"That may be true," Ganondorf had laughed, "but there is more than one way to break someone, Link!"_

* * *

The valley brought back ugly memories, which seemed to push themselves to the front of my mind. The place where I had fallen had left a semi-circle in the side of the valley. I peered down curiously, and was rewarded with the learching of my heart and stomach. There was no way that I was going to fall that way again. I cautiously tip-toed over the bridge, and through the long since unguarded gates. The desert people had become more trust-worthy of people over the years, and they had long ago stopped posting guards at the front gate. A lot of people were finally leaving the bubble of their towns, and taking pilgrimages to the temples. The long abandoned shrines to the elements had now become as elegant as they were before.

Anyway, I walked past the large stone walls into the city that they had built into the side of the mountain. A large swirling desert lay to the south, but it had become much less treacherous now that guides were leading packs of tourists over the twisting sands. The desert people are consisted of all girls and any boy that is born to any of them is considered a prophet. They still set up the ceremonial guards around the city, and so the flash of color was surprising. Each one of them was dressed in a gauzy purple fabric around their legs like pants, and left a bare space on their waist. Their mouths were all covered in the fabric, and their eyes were outlined in the traditional gold. Every one of them carried a sharp and dangerous knife on a long pole; one which I had had experience from training on before.

As I passed through the first level of the city, the guards stared at me from the corners of their eyes as I passed by. I made my way up a hill to the second level, and in the back was a training ground for cavalry. It looked long out of use, but I supposed people trained there once in a while. A woman in white stood under an awning, peering out from the only shade at me. _What makes them so nervous about me?_ I thought as I shook my head in amazement. "Good day. May I ask where I could find employment? I heard about the jobs that they are offering..." I trailed off and shaded my eyes from the glaring sun so I could see the women. She smiled, revealing white teeth that glowed slightly in the shade.

"Try around the stables. They're over there." She pointed to a long winding path to the left of the archery range. Nodding, I set off up the trail, which went a surprisingly long way up the side of a plateau. Finally reaching the top, I sighed with relief that turned into a gape of wonderment.

Before me lay the most magnificent stables that I had seen in my life. A large sand colored brick wall rose 40 feet into the air, and connected with a clay tiled roof, inlayed with designs in a dark maroon. Each individual stall was carved and polished with care, until they looked like a waxed floor. Even the sandy dirt floor inside the stables looked as though it had been placed there with purpose.

My head was watching the ceiling as I walked though the giant wooden doors and into the cool shade of the stables. The roof was so far above me, and the rafters looked about as thick as a stone wall. I was about to run into a wall when an older woman dressed in olive green blocked my way.

The woman was slim and brown; the result of working in the sun for hours. Under the trees, the elves had evolved to keep their fair skin. Suddenly, I felt very out of place.  
"May I ask your purpose?" the woman asked patiently. I closed my gawking mouth and cleared my reeling head.

"I heard they have jobs here," The woman razed an eyebrow but stood silently. "I am in the right place?" She nodded.

"One does not see many elves asking for employment," she titled her head questioningly. "What is your name?"

"Helen." a faint glint flashed in her eyes, but she said nothing. "Do you think you can take me?" Hope rose inside me. This was the only place I could go. Her face was blank, but she nodded reluctantly.

"We are having difficulties breaking a new horse. I suppose that you could try your hand at that." She peered at me from the corners of her eyes. "Follow me."

* * *

Had Sara gotten to the girl in time? The sages waited nervously around the rip. If this was a failure, than it could cost them this dimension. A sudden popping noise from the back of the crowd made the anxious people jump. Sara stepped into the crowd once more. Immediately, the sages crowded around her, their voices rising as they tried to talk over one another. "Did you find her?" "Was the forest taken?" "Why are you out of breath?" The girl waited unfazed as their chatter finally quieted.

"We have done all we can," she sighed forlornly. "It is up to them now. I fear that there is a misunderstanding between the two of them, but there is no way anyone besides themselves can solve it." Each of the Sages stared straight through the back of the next; somewhere beyond the room, somewhere they had been before. In each of their minds, a black shadow grew like a virus, staining and poisoning everything it touched. Someone waved a hand and the rip closed, lurching the room into perpetual silence and darkness.

* * *

The huge stables were nothing compared to the horses. Stable hands struggled to reach a bridle around the head of one particular giant who seemed to look down on the tiny people with quiet disdain. We passed at least twenty stalls, each stocked with a different color horse; palomino, pinto, dun, gray, gray black, grey white, white, and all the shades in between. Somehow, the air seemed cleaner and fresher in the stables. There was no sign of any dirt, nor any sign of horses that one would usually complain about: the smell most of all. The last stall in the hallway we were in seemed particularly dark, though it had a window overlooking a steep cliff. The women gestured toward the doorway. "This is the one." She pulled a carrot out of her pocket. "I recommend bribes as an entrance fee. If you can tame this horse, I can find somewhere to put you." She tossed me the carrot and backed away. With the carrot pressed to the bars, I nickered softly to a dark shape in the corner. The black shape's head moved, but nothing happened. Carefully, I opened the stall door enough to allow entrance, making sure that the door didn't lock behind me. Just in case.

The black shape still didn't move, which may or may not have been a good sign. "Hey," I said softly, "I'm not gonna hurt you." Nothing. "What are you doing in the corner like that?" I held out the carrot as a peace offering. The shadow horse reluctantly reached its nose out until it could just nibble on the end of the treat. When I made no sudden moves, the back half followed the front. In dim light I could make out burn marks on its matted dark brown coat. The saddle hadn't even been removed yet. As it finished the carrot, I scratched its forelock gently.

With my hand, I traced along its almost anorexic body until I reach its belly. Using feather light touches to remove the girth and the saddle blanket, I could almost feel the sigh as the weight was literally lifted from its shoulders. It ambled quietly over to the food pail as I brought the saddle out of the stall to examine it better.

The saddle had similar burn marks, obscuring any symbols that might have informed who the previous owner was. However, it was evident that who ever had owned it, had owned it for years. Bits of leather were tearing off in wear, obvious leg marks were warn into the sides, and the sword sheath had been sewn together pretty primitively. Leaving the saddle outside, I reentered the gloom. The horse seemed to be more nervous now. The whites of its eyes glowed as it backed itself into a corner and bucked slightly. I froze, humming a calming song that popped into my mind. Truthfully, it was more for my nerves then for the horse, but the horse shuddered and stopped. I stepped cautiously closer, but it didn't seem to mind, so I hooked a lead rope onto its bridle and lead it out into the hall.

We both blinked rapidly as our eyes adjusted to the sunlight. No one was in the hall at the moment, so I hooked her to a clip on the wall and rummaged around in a nearby tack room for a brush. The horse relaxed onto the wall as I gently curried around her scratches. The matted fur turned a copper gold as I brushed the dust away. Carefully, I moved on to its mane, which was brown with dirt.

Only half an hour later stood a very clean horse that was almost purring with contentment. Its mane was actually white, which I had discovered after washing her down. Somehow it looked really familiar... however, I didn't get a chance to connect the dots because another stable hand had discovered what I had done.

"How did you get her out of the stable?" she asked incredulously. "I couldn't even put my hands in the bars without getting bitten!" I smiled.

"I just sang her a song, didn't I girl?" The horse nodded vigorously as I unclipped her lead rope and took off her bridle. The stable hand backed away in fear, but the horse stood stone still. I rubbed her forehead inattentively. _So familiar..._ I thought as the stable hand bragged about her latest exploits against the horses.

"This one is so much smaller then the others. No wonder a newbie like you could tame her. I really wonder if this is one of the queen's stocks. No, I would not think that it would be..." She droned on until one of the other hands called her away. The horse gently snuffled the top of my head.

"No... you couldn't be." I turned to look the horse. Its black eyes absorbed me until something clicked in my mind. _Epona just doesn't answer to anyone. She wouldn't even answer to me at first..._ the voice explained. "Epona?" The horse looked me straight in the eyes and whuffled agreement.

* * *

Link had given up pacing by now. So much time had passed; it felt like he had grown 30 years in the past days. _Perhaps I have, _he mused_, after all this pressure and stress..._ He laughed weakly. Age was probably last on his list of importance at the moment. From the muffled yells that snuck up from the walls, the purple mist had entered the town and was wreaking havoc. Listlessly, Link turned onto his side away from the window. Shards of metal on the floor gleamed sickly in the thick haze. _He broke the Ocarina of Time_, he thought, _the one thing he has been searching for all these years, and he broke it._ With a groan he covered his face with his hands, praying to whoever was listening. _I'm so tired… perhaps death is a better alternative. Simply thrusting cold steel through one's chest. A small pain to end the large._

* * *

It was a shock to find out that this gaunt, bruised horse was the gallant Epona. She sniffed my pockets distractedly for food as I scratched behind her ears. "What happened to you?" I asked, my mouth pressed into her cheek. Link would never abuse Epona to this point, although the Link I thought I knew wasn't real. He was just trying to pull my chain.

She pulled her head up abruptly and smelled the air. Cautiously, she stepped out of the barn onto the plateau and looked to the horizon.

"What is it?" I asked. She turned her head and nodded at the sky. The plateau was higher up then it seemed, allowing a perfect view of the surrounding countryside. However, the entire countryside was now obscured by a purple tinged cloud that seemed to be moving steadily towards us. The wind from whatever storm that was driving it had already stripped all the leaves from the trees, but they seemed to be trailing the cloud like they were caught in it.

A few of the other stable hands were also looking over the vista disturbedly. The cloud seemed to be using tendrils of itself to climb the walls of the plateau. I rubbed my eyes to make sure that it was real. _Clouds can't climb_. Epona nudged me frantically.

"I think I should leave," I agreed. Trying not to hurt her, I mounted Epona as gently as possible. However, she galloped away as soon as I touched her back. Gripping her mane for dear life, I buried myself into her neck as the landscape blurred into lines. I felt my leg slap something hard, sending tendrils of pain up my body, but I had no voice to cry out. Wind whipped the tears from my eyes and the words from my mouth as Epona flew across the ground.

I was almost thrown off when she stopped suddenly, her feet digging into the ground to slow herself. The wind from the storm was actually painful, whipping clods of dirt against my skin. Through the fog, I could make out a large gray wall. "Hyrule Castle?" I yelled over the scream of the wind. Epona reared. "The bridge is drawn! We can't go in!" Epona trembled beneath me. She didn't know where to go either.

* * *

Link jerked when he heard Helen's voice carried on the wind, ignoring the rush of pain he felt when he put his hand to the window. The storm outside was becoming violent, but he could still see the faint glow of a horse's mane. "Epona?" He pounded on the window, taking no notice of the blood which began to flow from his reopened scars. "I can't break this window alone!" He cried frustratedly. Searching the room for something to use, he spotted the Sword of Time on the ground. His fingers barely brushed the metal before he plunged the sword into the opening. The window seemed to cry out, but the sword had broken through enough to shatter the spell. Drops of liquid metal and shards of the hex covered the room. The hilt of the sword clattered onto cold stone.

* * *

Epona was becoming frantic.

"We have to leave!" I shouted above the storm. The whites of her eyes glowed in the dim light. The storm was getting stronger, if that were possible. The chains of the bridge screamed as the wind forced its way in, opening reluctantly, but falling with an earth shattering slam. With the wind whipping my unraveled hair into my face, I couldn't see what was happening.

"Epona, the bridge is down!" I cried, hair flying into my mouth. She reared violently and I fell off. My hair streamed behind me in the gust that issued from the bridge as Epona tried to shield me with her body.

"Epona," I protested loudly. "We need to get away from this storm!"

"Indeed you do," said a voice, hidden by the trembling horse. "However, I'm afraid you can go no further." She reared at the voice, but was forced to canter away by the unseen force.

"No!" I cried. "You aren't real!" A man stood before me, dressed in black armor. His yellow eyes smiled mischievously as he pushed a hand through his red hair.

"Remember me?"

**_Really Dramatic Pause with scary percussion music_**

* * *

Muhahahahaha... the author leaves you with a cliffhanger. Oh the power I weild over you pathetic mortals. >:)

**__**


	7. Chapter 7

"You aren't real! You can't be real!" I cried. Unless all the tales myfatjer told me when I was young were false, the man in front of me was Ganondorf. His armor was deeper black then any shadow to the point where my eyes couldn't even look at it. I searched myself frantically for anything I could use as a weapon, but my sword had been left in the desert, along with the rest of gear. Ganondorf grinned.

"Ah, looking for this?" He held up my sword, eyeing it mockingly. "This feeble thing couldn't slice bread!" The blade dissolved into dust, leaving nothing but the hilt; which he tossed into the storm. "It wouldn't have helped." He said seriously.

"Why are you doing this? I just want to live my life!" I screamed, more to myself then him.

"Why am I doing this?" Ganondorf repeated with a twisted smile, "You, of all people, should know why I am doing this. I want your Triforce piece, Helen. I have been waiting for hundreds of years for it. And now, there will be no more games. No more battles with Link. I am sick and tired of getting hit with a light arrow and having him hurt me when I am down. Neither of you can even imagine what I have been through." His rage contorted his face for just a moment before he returned to smiling. "However, I have to admit that manipulating your petty crush on Link was quite amusing." My heart skipped a beat. I tried to keep my face expressionless, but Ganondorf just waggled a finger at me.

"Don't think you can hide any secrets from me." He tilted my head back with his finger and looked me straight in the eyes, "Even your mind is part of my domain."

"Get away from me!" I spat, shoving him away. He didn't move a centimeter. His voice turned brisk.

"Well, if you won't give it to me willingly, I can always take it from you!" He held out his arm, his triforce piece burning purple. "Give me what is mine!" he cried. Purple fog surrounded us as light pulsed from his arm. It felt like he was tearing my soul in half. The pain was so extreme that I couldn't breath or speak; tears ran down my cheeks. My whole body felt heavy. Slowly, the pain seemed to concentrate in my hand and all I could hear was laughing, endless laughing. When the pain was almost too great for my body to bear, the fog vanished.

I could make out two forms wrestling, however, my body had enough. I slipped into the oblivion, cradling my hand to my chest.

* * *

I drew in a ragged breath as I reached consciousness again. I was still cradling my hand, which had become blistered and red. It looked as though it had been burned and it certainly felt like it had. Taking steady breaths, I tried to control the pain as best I could.

I was still outside the castle, but the storm had completely disappeared. I blinked rapidly at the sun, rising in a perfectly azure colored sky. The bridge to Hyrule Town was still closed, however, after everything that had happened, I didn't blame them.

"What happened?" I asked myself. Walking around measuredly, looking for clues of what happened, I found that the grass had been ripped up a little ways from where I had been laying, but any important marks were lost in the chaos of debris and water from the storm. Much farther away, a large purple burn marred the landscape. The remains of what had once been a bush were still smoking.

As I was pondering this mystery, the faint serenade of a rooster greeted the morning. The bridge to Hyrule Town lowered down with a satisfied click, allowing merchants to stream out. I puzzled over the remains for only a second before I decided that was that.

"If Ganondorf is gone, that is one less person I have to worry about," I muttered under my breath. Swimming against the current, I made my way into the city. People stared as I walked by; my reflection revealed my grimy complexion, complete with leaves woven into my hair, torn clothes, and long purple burns across my bared skin.

"What now?" Again, I found that I had neither money nor a home, and I knew no one outside my village. I let myself wander through the crowd, trying my best to look invisible. This seemed to be working, as all the market goers turned their attention toward the newest weaponry or household appliance. Suddenly, I bumped into a man.

"Oh! Please excuse me!" I spluttered. He smiled up at me, his teeth glowing faintly in the darkness of the alley I had entered. The murmur of the crowd was muted; I was beginning to want them back, now that I had met this man! He was very short, only about up to my shoulders, with very little hair. As he smiled, he kept his eyes closed; I felt that I would not like to provoke him to open them. He grinned as he slipped a mask into my hand.

The mask was plain white with yellow jeweled eyes. Red paint created features that resembled the stone guardians.

"I can't take this" I told him. He just beamed at me.

"Here. I thank you, but I cannot take such an item from someone I do not know." I pushed the mask into his hand, but he rebuffed my attempts.

"Most popular mask!" he smiled, "Tells truth!" I raised an eyebrow skeptically as he ushered me to put it on, his earnestness obliging me to at least try. As I looked through the yellow eyes, everything turned a soft amber color. Turning my head to the entrance to the alley, I saw nothing different then normal, however, as my gaze happened to slip over mysterious man, I drew in a sharp breath. Instead of the gentle stranger that had given me the gift, I saw a short, pointy demon, his elongated teeth flashing wetly. I took off the mask in surprise, to find that the demon had changed back into the man. He nodded rapidly.

"Mask tells truth!" He laughed.

"Why are you giving this to me?" His face turned grave.

"I see truth." I was silent. The man turned and walked away, waving before leaving the entrance to the alley. I smiled. _Things are not always what they seem! _I thought

I was forced to spend the night in one of the gardens of the churchyard. Thankfully, the town still does not post guards to patrol at night, only at the castle. However, if I was going to stay in the town, or anywhere, I was going to need money, or at least a job. Curiosity and desperateness guided me to my final decision: I would make for the castle at noon and introduce myself. Although it was not a necessary step, the King (if he found me suitable to his tastes) could find me employment quite easily.

After a painful morning consisting of much grumbling on the part of my stomach, I found my way to the gate of the palace. A solitary guard stood watch, eyeing me greedily as I ogled the grand structures.

"G'day. Wha can I do for you miss?" He hunched over, clutching his spear with pale hands.

"I am seeking entry to the castle," I said primly, "Would I be able to gain entrance here?" He seemed baffled at my avoidance of contractions and I was forced to hide a giggle under a cough.

"I could letcha in, but the princess 'as been priy particular 'bout the people who get in lately." He glanced over my clothing with an air of distain. I shifted uncomfortably.

"….I could… letcha go through, but… the toll price is 50 gil nowdays."

"50 gil?" I exclaimed, "The princess allows this sort of toll?" He grinned sickly.

"Wha the princess don't know won't 'urt 'er."

"I see." I had no money, and I definitely couldn't come up with the 50 Gil "toll".  
"Sorry, but I don't have that much." I mustered about as much pity in my face as I could.

"Sorry to you then little missy!" he laughed, immune to my attempts.

I walked back to the town silently, pondering my next move. If I couldn't get the King to find me a position, I would have to ask around myself. However, looking the way I did wouldn't get me many recommendations, just a cold shoulder. I was about to exit the castle area when I noticed a string of ivy out of the corner of my eye. It grew straight into the rock, up the height of the wall and over. I pulled on it firmly, but the ivy sprung back from my abuse. Finding a low niche for my foot, I began to climb the wall. Thankfully, it was just out of sight of the guard because I fell off once or twice before making all the way over.

The ivy spilled down the other side of the hill as well, which I tiptoed over as not to disturb the guard. The end of the hill was very close to the gate, but he seemed to be ignorant of the commotion going on as I tripped and fell unflatteringly loud. Tiptoeing past the rest of the guards, I managed to swim through the moat and make it to a back door.

"It's locked!" I cried frustratedly. The only thing that was nearby was a pile of boxes. I looked at them inquisitively. They looked too perfectly lined up to be randomly lying there, but they seemed to have no use. A tap on the higher one revealed the contents to be empty. A waterfall spilled nearby, explaining the moss covered side of the crates.

"Moss covered?" I wondered to myself. Obviously they had been in the same position for a while. I climbed on top of the box, searching for a reason. Finally, I hit it. Someone had jumped through the hole the waterfall was coming through. I prayed to myself and leaped. My fingers grasped the wet stone and I pulled myself through the hole, barely having enough air to make it all the way.

Wandering aimlessly through the gardens inside the palace walls, I began to hear the faint strains of a song. Following the song through the gardens like a tourist in Paris, I ended up in the Princess's private gardens. However, it wasn't the princess I happened upon; it was Link.

* * *

"Helen?" Link gasped in amazement. I stood stock still, eyes frozen on the familiar form. He hesitated as he walked to me.

"You're ok?"

"Yeah… What happened out there?" I asked. Link was silent. _Why won't he tell me? _I wondered. I closed the gap between us with only two steps. Link looked uncomfortable with me invading his personal space, as I, however, there was only one way to find out the information I needed. This was going to be embarrassing, unless I was right.

"I missed you!" I cried in a screechy voice, throwing my arms around his neck. I pulled back and looked into his eyes… which were yellow.

Distracting him by pecking him on the cheek, I curled one hand into a fist, pulled back, and punched him straight in the face.

"You think I am that stupid?" I smirked, relishing in the moment as he moaned, clutching his face. "I know Link and you aren't him." Ganondorf shed his outer layer like a coat, the scenery around him fading to reveal the true world I had entered. Apparently, Ganondorf had been able to spread his influence; both the sky and the ground had turned a malignant shade of mauve. The true Link was currently nowhere to be seen, however I had a feeling he was somewhere truly nasty.

"You are a feisty one!" he laughed. His eye was already turning purple, I noticed with an internal laugh. "It would have been interesting to break you. However, now that the boy wonder has been restrained, I can finally take what is mine." Raising his hand, the purple mist regrouped around us. His triforce piece began to glow and the familiar burn spread tentacles up my arm. I was on my knees within seconds; it was too soon for me to have regrouped my strength yet. What seemed like hours later, the pain disconnected, leaving me gasping like a fish on land. Ganondorf smiled and savored the flavor of his new power. Grasping me by the collar, he hoisted me onto his shoulder.

"Now for the final piece," he murmured.

* * *

We entered Ganondorf's castle over a bridge that he was able to conjure. I found it strange to be entering a building that my father had used as a scary story at bedtime, but thankfully, we bypassed the challenges which had been rumored of, and entered a sort of chapel. The room was entirely empty, light by huge stained glass windows which threw long shadows onto the floor. He dropped me unceremoniously onto the ground with a bang.

"Come out, come out wherever you are…" Ganondorf crooned. Nothing moved. He began to stride slowly around the room, addressing the mystery party.

"Yes I know. It has all fallen apart hasn't it? You never were what they said you were. You are weak, defenseless, senseless, and pathetic. You cheated every time you defeated me. You refused me what was mine in the first place. You locked me in that god forsaken hell hole and expected me to stay there? You were a fool. You are a fool!" He smiled, relishing the feeling of degrading his enemy. I tried to get up and move, but my entire body felt enervated, devoid of any warmth or feeling.

"Come in the light," he said silkily, "and show her who you really are!" He turned to a corner gauzed in shadow. My heart knew that it was Link hiding in that darkness; I could feel my heart break in two. _Link, you don't have to be my hero_ I willed for him to hear. Perhaps he did, because he took that opportunity to inch closer to the light, revealing his heart wrenching state. Link was covered in cuts, burns, bruises and conceivably, breaks. Ganondorf came up from behind and kicked him hard, sprawling him across the sunlight floor. He groaned, having nothing left to give.

It barely registered that I had made it to my feet because all I could feel was blinding fury. My hands were numb, but I still clenched them so tight I drew blood with my nails.

"Don't. Touch. Him." I said, enunciating each word. Ganondorf turned his attention toward me with a nonchalant smile.

"What can you do?" he said incredulously, raising his hands above his head. "You have nothing now." I wanted to punch him again.

I simply released the yellow stone from my vice-like grip and peered through it.

"I can see the truth."

"I see. And what revelation would you reveal to us?" he chuckled. I remained silent, padding silently to Link to hand him the stone.

"You have no idea, do you?" I said, "I think I could apply the phrase 'It takes a fool to know a fool' to this situation." Ganondorf maintained his self-confidence nevertheless. Link fingered the stone; only the slightest tilt of his mouth revealed his feelings.

"Give me that!" Ganondorf snapped, finally losing a bit of poise. He snatched the stone, inspecting it thoroughly, finally peering through but finding nothing. He threw the stone at the wall, shattering it into thousands of pieces. Each sliver reflected the light… onto me, creating an aura of radiance.

I drew back my arm like drawing a bow, aiming my imaginary arrow straight at Ganondorf's heart.

"No!" he cried, "You can't do that!" My aura collected itself to form an arrow of light. My make-believe bow groaned under the pressure as I drew it back as far as I could before letting it fly; the arrow blazing as it hit its intended target, knocking him to the floor.

"Link! I need Farore's Wind!" I cried. He slid his bag across the floor weakly, hitting my feet. Quickly, I found it, activated it and threw it at the unconscious Ganondorf. He was bathed in green light for a moment before he was gone.

It was over, finally over. I sank to my knees with relief. _I'm done… It's done._

"You couldn't kill him either, could you?" came a quiet question. Link was lying on his back, his head turned toward me.

"No," I said glumly.

"How did you know where Farore's Wind would end up?"

"I figured it would be the easiest way for you to get there and back," I smiled, "though it was a dangerous move." Link laughed weakly.

"You always were foolish."

I softly padded over to where he was laying and inspected his injuries, which were various and seemingly painful.

"I can't move you" I said helplessly. He had broken too many bones for me to be able to discern any sort of spinal damage.

"Can I have my pack back?" He chuckled, wincing. _Broken rib,_ I noted mentally. Retrieving the pack and sitting down beside Link, I fingered the soft leather between my fingers, lost inside my own thoughts. Everything seemed too calm to be real, like I would wake up inside Ganondorf's world again and relive the pain.

"Can you find me the bottle with the pink inside?" Link said, snapping my attention back to reality; I delved through the pack to find the demanded object. The glass I found was pulsating gently, and I lay it within reach of his hand. He popped the cork, gritting his teeth as he did so, releasing a small rose colored orb which hung in the air between us. Sitting up, which I protested, he reached out a finger and touched the orb which proceeded to circle him head to foot. With a sigh, Link stood, seemingly healed.

"Much better" he smiled, rolling his shoulders. I laughed.

"Thank goodness you had a faerie with you! I don't know what I would have done."

"You would have found a way to help me," he said quietly. I turned my head away to smile. Here was the Link I knew… yet, a memory came flooding back to me which made me back away.

"Ah. You remember the fall." He turned his head to the window, letting the light chase the shadows away. He had lines on his face that had not been there before, giving him an air of one who remembered things they would rather forget.

"I'm sorry," He said sorrowfully, "I am weak. I couldn't stop Ganondorf from invading my mind and when I finally fought him back, it was too late. He set up a trap for me at the entrance to the lake, which I fell for. He ensnared me like a moth to the light." He sighed heavily. "I'm not the hero that everyone thinks I am."

"Link, you don't have to be strong to be a hero. In fact, you didn't have to be a hero in the first place. You could have washed your hands of the entire matter long ago, but you didn't. You are a hero because of your perseverance, your valor, not your ability to resist evil." I laced my fingers with his and we stood in silence for a while.

"Though it does help," Link added finally.

Something seemed to pass through us that I could find no word for. The closest I have ever come is the word understanding: I think finally, he had found someone who really knew him, not just the mask he put on to face reality. After a while, Link took out his ocarina, playing the tune he played for me once before. I felt a hot tear roll down my cheek as we both dissolved into dust.


	8. Chapter 8

The room the sages were sitting in had been dark for days; none of them wanting to procure a light because they would have to see the outcome of their actions. However, they were forced to when a sudden loud thump echoed in the corner of the room.

"What is this!" cried the Zoron. Everyone crowded around the lump that had appeared. "Someone make a light!" someone called. A faint glow chased the shadows from the room, revealing a groaning Ganondorf on the floor, a stunned silence echoing for a few seconds. Sara kicked him hard in the side, producing a low moan from the prostate body.

"He's still alive" someone smirked.

"Where in the world did he come from?" asked the Darunia. Ganondorf seemed to have gone through a leaf shredder, his armor was eaten away, his arms were scratched, and even his hair seemed shorter then usual.

"He always did have a lumpy nose," noted Zelda. A low chuckle emanated from the crowd, however, a respectful silence echoed as a fat balding man parted the crowd, resting his left foot on Ganondorf's stomach.

"Who has control of whom now, eh?" The man poked his finger at Ganondorf's especially pointy nose as he spoke. "I strip you of the title of Ambassador to the King. You are hereby banished from all lands of Hyrule, including your homeland. I would sentence you now to the Forbidden Realm, but I believe that your friends have something else to use you for yet."

Two forms stepped out of the shadows, each bowing and curtsying respectively to the King of Hyrule.

"I am afraid we do," said Link gravely, "however, I have no idea how to go about said business." The sages exchanged glances, realizing that they too had no idea.

"Well, this is certainly a pickle!" said the King after a silence. Each of the sages crowded around a table in the corner, consulting maps and legends that were so old, their binding was made of tree sap held together with a pinch of modern magic to prevent decay. Leaving the professionals to their business, I slid down the wall close to where Ganondorf lay; although he still wasn't moving, I could feel Link's awareness of my position acutely. While the sages, Link, and the King deliberated, I became preoccupied with the body beside me.

Ganondorf hardly seemed to be breathing, but his eyes were open.

"Are you all right?" I asked softly enough for only him to hear. Ignoring me, he closed his eyes against the sounds of the argument.

"I am afraid that your design was doomed to begin with," I whispered slowly. I don't know why I felt the urge to tell the man who had caused so much pain the reason why he had failed. Perhaps, I like to believe that no one is really all evil, but they do evil things for a reason.

"No one can take any of the triforce pieces from anyone else. The creators of this earth designed it to give; each tree, rock, leaf and animal has something to offer this earth. Their beliefs are manifested in the triforce, the ultimate symbol of their dream for this world and though it could fall into human hands, it is safeguarded by their original creational ideas. No person, whether they be evil at heart or good, can take a piece away from another. The triforce was created to give; therefore, the pieces must be given freely in order for their power to merge." When I glanced back over at Ganondorf, his eyes had opened and he was breathing more visibly.

"You see, neither of us can take your share of the triforce," I concluded firmly, "It is yours alone to control."

I watched him out of the corner of my eyes for a while,but sleep soon claimed me as its own.

* * *

I awoke groggily to a heated argument. Princess Ruto stuck out her tongue at Darunia, who promptly repeated the action back. _So mature…. These are the people controlling Hyrule?_ I vaguely wished for a democratic system of succession.

"Why don't we save this for tomorrow?" I yelled over the din. The sages began to protest loudly, however, I knew that if there was no intervening, their passions would lead them to the wrong conclusions.

"It would be best to continue when you have calmed yourselves," I said flatly. "Sages should not be engaged in verbal abuse." This time, they agreed.

* * *

Later that night, I found myself on a balcony overlooking the whole of Hyrule. Each peak, valley, river, stream, mansion, and hut was clearly visible through the amazingly crystalline air. Every place I saw was new to me, having never left the forest before I met Link, I wanted to see each of the places personally.

"I can't believe how beautiful Hyrule is," I sighed to myself.

"Neither can I," came a voice. Link leaned over the railing next to me, smiling as he saw the perfect pastoral spread out before him. "I wish I could take you to those places," he smiled, lost in the memories accompanying each area.

"Perhaps you shall," I murmured. Link turned to me, surprised.

"You would want to accompany me?" he said.

"Why not?" I asked. "I know very little of the land outside my home and I know more then most about the land inside my home. It wouldn't make sense to leave the virgin wilderness on my doorstep unexplored."

"Hardly virgin," he laughed. "There are settlements beyond the southern river."

"Really?" Link burst out into laughter, which made me even more confused. For the rest of the night, he regaled me with tales of his travels, fighting monsters, saving countless lives, but remaining the same fragile person in his heart.

* * *

Years seemed to pass within the confines of the parallel realm, though the moon proved that only a month had passed. The sages deliberated and argued, but they never seemed to come to any conclusive agreement about anything, so Link and I whittled away the time by ourselves.

One day, we found a room that was filled with books from across the entire world; that kept us amused for days on end, breathing in the smell of each new place by just flipping some pages. We played endless games of hide and go seek, though it was unfair to me. Link would always put on a blue tunic and hide underwater where I could never reach him, though the bubbles of his laughter disturbing the surface always gave him away. It seemed as though we had both lost hundreds of years of worry in a single hour and the children whom we had ignored for so long, finally wanted to get a bit of freedom before we returned to reality.

Ganondorf, in the meantime, was kept in a locked courtyard on my request. Though no one else could understand, I felt somewhat sorry for him. Like Link, he had been prodded into a direction that he did not want to go, being the only male child to be born to the desert people in 100 years. Whether he was evil or not, I felt it was inhumane to keep him locked in a room for weeks. Still, with all the fun I was having, I forgot that he existed at all.

In Hyrule, the damage that had been wreaked by the storm was meticulously being repaired. The king of Hyrule had given up the throne to Zelda's younger brother, Torin, in light of the fact that she had died. She took her place in the hall of the sages, arguing louder than any of the rest that Ganondorf should simply be killed and let that be that. I didn't like her too much; for one thing, she was horribly bad at hide and go seek, but whenever I saw her with Link, I got a squashy feeling at the bottom of my stomach. Perhaps she was too beautiful for her own good.

Zora's Domain, to the relief of Link, finally thawed.

"I defeated that damned wolf," he complained, "why in the world did it take this long to melt?" The Zorans hadn't complained. Their frozen homeland had become a large tourist attraction during the summer, but even after the water thawed, they would hold yearly Yeckball competitions, which is a sport eerily close to ice hockey.

Also to the relief of Link, his friend Malon found her night in shining armor. Someone had rescued her from the undead skeletons which prowl the wilderness after dark after she had gotten lost. When she first recalled the incident to us, she had a look in her eyes that said she was thinking about him sans vêtements. She also was reluctant to reveal his name to us, but Link said everything comes in good time.

For myself, I was granted the task of repairing the damage which Ganondorf's shadows had wreaked, which included my homeland. The sages even, if grudgingly, allowed all the people who were killed to be returned, with no memory of what happened to them. To keep myself occupied when Link was busy, I planted thousands of trees throughout Hyrule, which grew to be some of the most beautiful in the world. One in Hylian Lake, which I didn't plant, became quite famous for blossoming large, white flowers once every year, though it had been dead for longer then memory itself. I hear that the Zorans make a tidy profit in the tourist business nowadays.

But anyway, I regress.

* * *

After a particularly large pillow fight between Link and I, in which feathers fell like rain, our inner children finally decided that they had gotten enough fun to satisfy themselves for a while and left. We awoke to find that we had cuddled up together in a large pile of cushions with feathers inside all of our clothing, hair, mouths, and every nook and cranny of the room. Without saying a word, we agreed to spend the rest of the morning cleaning the feathers out of the corners.

The afternoon found us joining a heated argument in a conference room. Zelda, her hair frizzing in the rising humidity, pointed at a large map of royal genealogy, her voice becoming progressively louder as the volume of Darunia's snores increased. After only a few minutes of hearing her tirade, I began to feel my head grow heavy as well. Link had his eyes closed and was breathing slowly, a slow smile spreading over his face as a small dispute erupted over the relationship of Darian the Gold to Mariiann, Gelda's daughter.

Suddenly, a large bang made everyone yelp. Darunia's head had slipped out of his hand and hit the table.

"Hm?" he said sleepily, rubbing his head.

"Well… I never!" stammered Zelda, her wrath growing. "I…If you can't pay attention, well… then… I won't talk at all!"

"Finally," murmured Rauru, the sage of light, to himself. I saw Link laughing silently in the corner of my eye, his shoulders shaking as he tried not to snort; I pressed my lips together, but it was too late. We both erupted in laughter, crying and gasping for air as Zelda shot us a venomous glare, her mouth gaping at our audacity.

We were unanimously ejected from the room.

* * *

Because of our rude interruption, I was regulated to kitchen duty, which wasn't so bad, considering what Link had to do. Normally, Nabooru would feed everyone, but for some reason, she was taking a break today. Princess Ruto had made a fish casserole, which smelled worse then it tasted and it tasted pretty bad. After everyone had "cleaned" their plate, she gave me a plate of food and told me to go feed Ganondorf, which irked me a bit. What was he? A dog?

The guards next to the door unlocked the door, after I had answered a plethora of questions like: What is Nabooru's middle name? A rush of cool air emitted from the door as it slid open with a groan.

Ganondorf's courtyard was rather darker then mine, but the stars shone like glass in the inky sky. The plate clinked loudly against the short stone wall I had set it down upon. _Can he feel my fear?_ I wondered, but didn't stick around to find out. I fled, but a cold hand grasped my arm firmly and reeled me in. I met Ganondorf's yellow eyes as he pressed something warm into my palm, grabbed my shoulders, turned me back around, and pushed me from the yard. I ran, the guards shouting at my back, to my room, firmly shutting the door before I dared breathe normally. Looking down into my hand, a gold triangle winked at me in the pale light.


	9. Chapter 9

The sages grumbled as they sat around the conference table for the second time that day, this time in their pajamas. Zelda, of course, was wearing something slinky, but Nabooru's two piece gold ensemble was getting all of the attention. Darunia had fallen asleep on the table, and now had begun to drool to which all the girls shrieked and ran into the corner. Impa had begun forging a weapon for God only knows whom, and was diligently studying from a book of old legends. Link, who had been watching the proceedings with a wistful smile, cleared his throat, ignoring the hiccup-like giggles coming from Zelda who was batting her eyelashes at him.

"I think Helen has something to show you," he said, leading me into the room; I was still staring at my hand like something was about to jump out. Gently, he pried open my fingers and placed the golden object upon the table. The sages crowed around the triangle, Darunia biting the object to make sure it was real.

"It's real!" he crowed, real gold!

"This couldn't be an actual piece of the actual triforce," scoffed Zelda, itching her hand absently, "there would be more…" she waved her arms around. "pomp and circumstance" she finished.

"If this is the actual triforce, there would be less pomp and circumstance," said Impa quietly, "Not all the stories about it are true."

"Then what do we do with it?" No one answered.

None of them noticed the concerned whispers of the two other piece holders; their hands had started to get hot. Very hot. Too hot. I clamped down on a moan of pain, but it bested me. Rauru turned at the sound.

"Oh my." The sages backed away at our apparent insanity. I seemed to be the first to realize what was going on. The triforce wanted out. Now.

"I give it freely!" I gasped, the pain curling down my spine and working its way toward my toes. "I give the piece of Fate freely!" I struggled for breath as the pain increased dramatically, my hand feeling like it would set the air around it aflame if there was only a spark. Then, it was over. I slid against the wall, my legs having no strength left in them to hold me up. Something hot burned my palm and I dropped it with a dull thud onto the floor. It glimmered conceitedly as my brain struggled to grasp what it already knew. I was free.

"I give it freely!" cried Link, as he saw what I had done. He collapsed, unceremoniously, onto the stone floor with a thump, his triforce piece tumbling out of his limp fingers. I lifted my eyes weakly to Zelda, who was gripping the arm of a chair with white fingers, her eyes glazed over. Nabooru shook her violently.

"Say it!" she urged.

"I give it freely" Zelda whispered. Her piece rolled under the table, but Zelda didn't move until Nabooru took her arm off of Zelda's shoulder. Then she dropped like a stone.

* * *

I opened my eyes again to something green. The act of physicalizing the triforce must have used most of my energy because I didn't remember anything that had happened for what seemed like days. Blinking, the blob materialized into the worn cloth of Link's tunic; he was sitting next to me on a bed, fingering his cap. His hand was rusty red with blood which had dried in the shape of a triangle. My gasp was enough to alert Link that I was awake. He glanced at his hand.

"You have one too." Eyeing my hand, my scar was less raw, probably because I had let go earlier.

"How many days has it been?" I wondered aloud.

"Two. I just woke up myself." He paused, fiddling with a hole in his cap as he thought. The silence was more awkward then I liked; something divided us at that moment that I could not name.

"I know what you did," Link said quietly. I was silent for a moment.

"How did you find out?"

"I found out from Ganondorf himself," he said, his tone hard. "I had to talk to my arch-enemy in order to find out what my l-… my friend had done!" I was quiet, weaving the sheets in and out of my fingers.

"Look at me!" he cried. Slowly, I raised my gaze to his eyes and I wished I hadn't; what I saw there broke my heart. I saw his hurt, his anger, his worry, but the last thing pained me more then any of the others. I saw his love.

"Trust me," he said inaudibly. In my mind's eye, I saw a less troubled Link. "Trust me," he had said. But I had closed my heart to him. He turned away and walked down the canon, to the place where Ganondorf would take advantage of his weakness and force him to push me. But, now I saw it so clearly. He turned his face toward me a centimeter before he passed; light gleamed through the tears that swam in his eyes. Why had I not realized before?

"I do," I murmured, a tear slipping from my eye. The pain I felt now was greater then any pain that had come before. Link wiped the tears away with his thumb, his gaze never leaving mine.

"I believe you," he whispered with a smile, "You are more foolish then you know."

"Perhaps," I said through my tears, "but could I have done the things I did if I had know that they were impossible?" Link laughed lightly.

"I don't suppose you could have."

His face was close enough to mine that if he closed his eyes, I would feel his eyelashes on my cheek. Instead, he kissed me through my tears, through his own, until all my shoulder-heaving sobs were soothed away.

At the same moment, three things happened: The triforce pieces which the sages had been puzzling over for two days, suddenly grew brilliantly white. The sages covered their eyes, allowing four women to enter the room, grab the triforce pieces, and leave without being seen. Later, Zelda would swear that she had seen the goddesses in the room, but no one else believed her.

Ganondorf opened his eyes from a deep sleep, feeling something strange stir his heart. He fished around in his food for a key, which he found under the steak. "My purpose here is done," he whispered. On second thought, he would take the roll after all. The guards on duty didn't notice the black shadow that slipped from the roof, chewing silently on bread; they were both thinking about how much they wanted to go home and kiss their wives senseless.

And a single white flower bloomed on the dead tree on a solitary island in Lake Hylia. It had been dead for one hundred years.


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue:**

The sages never did find out why the triforce simply disappeared as it did. Zelda became much quieter after the disappearance, spending days at a time in the library. At first, no one believed that she was actually studying, but it was true. She would become one of the world's leading experts on legends and myths, though no one could have predicted it.

Ganondorf seemed to disappear off of the face of the earth. Nabooru followed his trail from Hylian Lake to the colonies across the southern river, yet she reported that she had found nothing at the trail's end. If anyone found it suspicious that the clues had been left in open sight, which is not something that someone who wanted to escape would do, they said nothing. Nabooru seemed to act dreamily for the next week or so, humming and dancing with invisible partners. No one said anything to this either, though I could guess what it meant.

Hyrule flourished in the meantime. Torin did a fantastic job of ruling; within the first three years, he had established a peaceful alliance with the Gerudo people, rebuilt Hyrule Castle, and had gotten married to Malon, the girl whom he had rescued in the forest. Malon's ranch was run by her father, but would eventually be handled by her son, Eron, whose first order of business was to give Epona to Link permanently. And her foal, Luneste, who is gray.

So, the rhythm of life continued. Springs passed, and winters. There were festivals, and weddings, funerals, and vigils. Things were made, things were stolen. Promises were made and broken. Love was found and lost again. And I was happy.

I could say that we lived happily ever after. I could say that our children would grow up as wild as their father and as tied to the earth as their mother, becoming great in their own rights, not that of their parents. I could say that I lived a life of laughter with Link and a life of tears. I could end this tale by saying that all the people who I ever had met had their stories end happily. I could say that. And I will:

We lived happily ever after.

* * *

**Credits roll as sappy love tunes play in the background. Zelda fans worldwide pelt the screen with used tissues in anger. Malon fans sob to themselves. Ganondorf fans scream with happiness. All is right with the world…. **

**Awww... the story is over! Please rate if you like b/c it makes me feel all fuzzy inside :P**


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